The invention relates generally to the art of children's playground equipment, particularly climbing toys, constructed from discarded tire bodies. It has been known for a number of years that entertaining children's toys and play equipment can be constructed from tires, the most familiar example of which is the "tire swing" found in innumerable backyards and playgrounds across the country.
In very recent years new kinds of tire toys have been developed which are safe and durable and which, most importantly, are fun for children and which encourage creative play. Such toys are constructed from tire bodies attached together to form relatively large climbing structures, towers, etc. In some cases pipes may join together several individual "units" to allow more children to play on the equipment in high density play areas like churches, schools, day-care centers, etc. Additionally, bouncing toys, functioning like trampolines, can be prepared by joining two or more tires together and providing a platform on which a child can stand or sit. Examples of such equipment will be described in detail in the following description of the present invention.
Even though these recently developed toys functioned adequately, several disadvantages were encountered. First, old tire bodies are often discolored and grey-black in appearance. Accordingly, the visual attractiveness of such equipment was low in comparison to the shinier lacquered steel and plastic playground equipment. This disadvantage is not offset from the average purchaser's standpoint by the fact that steel and plastic equipment is considerably more expensive to buy. In addition, the rubber from old tires tends to rub off on the clothing and skin of children. In an attempt to overcome these disadvantages, various coatings have been applied to the tire bodies to improve the visual appearance and prevent rub-off, but until the present invention no suitable coatings were known to the art.
Initial coating applications of materials, such as "Rubbertone," manufactured by DuPont, did temporarily improve the visual appearance, but the coating itself could rub off onto clothing or skin and it was not durable or shiny. Other coatings did not have satisfactory adhesion qualities and would tend to flake off the tire bodies during use. This latter problem is especially pronounced in cold temperature climates where many resin coatings become brittle, and the problem is compounded because the tire toys are constantly flexed, twisted or otherwise distorted during use.